Nutritive value and legume content of multi-species swards managed under four cuts per year on organic farming

Summary

Increasing forage production is a key strategy to reach feed self-sufficiency on cattle farms. On organic farms, multi-species swards (MSS) are commonly sown and often contain at least 5 plant species. Our objective was to monitor the forage yield, nutritive value and botanical composition of different MSS along the growing season on commercial farms. In 2015, five MSS (MSS1 to 5) were studied on three farms located in Wallonia (Farm1: 3 MSS; Farm2: 2 MSS; Farm3: 2 MSS). MSS3 was present in the three farms. Recorded parameters included the proportion of plant species per cut, and the dry matter (DM) yield, chemical composition, digestibility and nutritive value after pre-wilting. Annual DM yield was mainly linked to sward management and agricultural area (few differences between MSS within farms). Across all cuts, on average (weighted mean), crude protein content (CP) was less than 15% DM, and organic matter digestibility reached 75%. CP increased from cut 1 to cut 3. Plant species proportion varied according to the cut, farm and MSS.